Supreme Court Rejects varavara Rao‘s Plea to Modify Bail conditions
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea by Telugu poet and activist Varavara Rao seeking modification of his bail conditions in the Bhima Koregaon case. Rao,82,is currently out on medical bail and resides in Mumbai.
The court’s decision maintains the existing conditions, requiring Rao to remain within the jurisdiction of Mumbai without express permission from the trial court, and to refrain from contacting witnesses. He is also required to keep the National inquiry Agency (NIA) informed of his medical treatments.
Rao was granted bail on medical grounds by the top court on August 10, 2022, acknowledging his age and the prolonged period he had spent in custody – two and a half years at the time - despite the fact that charges had not yet been framed and some accused remained unapprehended. The court explicitly stated the bail was “purely on medical grounds” and should not be considered a precedent for other accused.
Rao was initially arrested on August 28, 2018, from Hyderabad and has been an under-trial prisoner in the Bhima Koregaon case. The case stems from an FIR lodged by Pune Police on January 8, 2018, alleging inflammatory speeches at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, incited violence near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial the following day. Police claim the conclave was organized by individuals with alleged Maoist links.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s 2022 bail order, Rao was initially placed under house arrest, then taken into police custody on November 17, 2018, and later shifted to Taloja Jail in Maharashtra. He was granted bail on medical grounds by the Bombay High Court on February 22, 2021, and released on March 6th. Though, this was followed by the dismissal of his plea for permanent bail on April 13, 2022, with a three-month extension of his temporary medical bail. His request to be transferred back to Telangana was also denied.
The NIA later took over the investigation into the case.
